Desktop 7: Can't disable the "Do not back up virtual machine" option on Windows 7 VM

G

gimpster

Junior Member
I have two separate MacBook Pro's, both just upgraded to Parallels Desktop 7 from Parallels Desktop 6 and each has a Win7 VM installed completely separate from the other (meaning, I didn't just copy the PVM from one laptop to the other).

On Machine A, I had previously checked the box for "Do not back up virtual machine" under Configure -> Options -> Backup and also had the SmartGuard option set to "Optimize for Time Machine". I tried to uncheck the "Do not back up virtual machine" box but it keeps reverting back to a checked state. Even if I turn off SmartGuard, it keeps defaulting back to a checked state.

So, I went to Machine B, confirmed that the Win7 VM did not have this box checked. I also loaded up the respective "config.pvs" file and noted that the one from Machine A had AppVersion = 7.0.14920.689535 and the other had an AppVersion from 6.0.xxxxx. This machine had SmartGuard disabled initially, so I changed this setting to "Optimize for Time Machine" and immediately the checkbox for "Do not back up virtual machine" got checked. I tried to disable it but it won't. I turned SmartGuard off again but it still won't let me disable the "Do not back up virtual machine" option.

Even though my repro steps include SmartGuard, I don't believe this is necessarily related. I think it might have to do with the PVS file being updated from version 6 to version 7. I don't see a setting in the PVS file that seems to map to this setting, so I'm not sure where this setting is actually stored so I haven't tried manually editing the settings to change the value.

Any ideas how to fix this or workaround it?
 
You missed the part where I said that even after disabling SmartGuard, it still won't let me uncheck that box...
 
you have to disble the backup of the folder Documents/Parallels in Time Machine.
that's what I meant :)
so, go to SystemPreferences / Time Macine / Options
and leave the folder /Documents/Parallels out of the backup.
 
A) that doesn't fix the issue I'm talking about
B) I think you're completely misunderstanding what I'm talking about

Please read my original post again. I don't want to exclude my VM from being backed up. I'm trying to get it set so that it only backs up the snapshots created by SmartGuard which I want set to "Optimize for Time Machine" and according to the information I received from support (posted here) it seems as if this checkbox needs to be unchecked so that the entire PVM isn't excluded (since that's where snapshots are stored). But even if that is incorrect, this still seems like a bug because I cannot uncheck this option where I was able to uncheck it before upgrading to v7.
 
gimpster said:
A) that doesn't fix the issue I'm talking about
B) I think you're completely misunderstanding what I'm talking about

Please read my original post again. I don't want to exclude my VM from being backed up. I'm trying to get it set so that it only backs up the snapshots created by SmartGuard which I want set to "Optimize for Time Machine" and according to the information I received from support (posted here) it seems as if this checkbox needs to be unchecked so that the entire PVM isn't excluded (since that's where snapshots are stored). But even if that is incorrect, this still seems like a bug because I cannot uncheck this option where I was able to uncheck it before upgrading to v7.
Click to expand...
I get your point, I was looking for some answers on this as well. From what I've understand, I think it is a bug.
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I'm having the same problem: can't clear the "Do not back up virtual machine" setting in Desktop 7 for Mac. I clear this setting, close the Options window, but the next time I open it again, that setting box is checked again. As a result, I can't get my VM to be backed up.

Any feedback from Parallels?
 
I'm beginning to wonder if anyone from Parallels actually reads these forums or if they are just here to placate the masses...
 
I'm having the exact same problem. I cannot clear the "Do not back up virtual machine" setting in Desktop 7 for Mac.
 
Support is still helping me get to the root of this issue and fix the functionality, but I at least have a workaround that I thought I would post here for other people seeing this problem. If you are seeing this, please open a support ticket anyway so they can track how widespread this issue is and get the right resources allocated toward fixing it.

Here's the workaround. Parallels leverages OS X's extended file attributes to flag whether to backup and there is a command-line tool you can use to modify this setting. You will need to use Terminal to do this and you will need to know the path to your VM's .pvm file (e.g. "/Users/John/Documents/Parallels/Windows 7.pvm"). Here are the instructions from Parallels:

1. Open Terminal.app on your Mac
2. Use the command `sudo tmutil removeexclusion -p` like in the example below to enforce "Do not backup with Time Machine" Virtual Machine configuration option and exclude its image from an archive produced by Time Machine:

sudo tmutil removeexclusion -p "/Users/John/Documents/Parallels/Windows Vista.pvm"
 
Can't disable "Do not backup virtual machine"

Have the same problem. I played around with my iMac and finally got it to disable and locked the settings. My MBP is a diff't story, not matter what I do the check mark keeps coming back.

Any resolution to the problem. Tried using the suggested terminal hack but did not work.
 
Mcphee said:
All I did is cleared the backup system. That works.
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Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this? What do you mean by "clear the backup system" and what steps are involved to do this? I'd love to know because while the solution I posted will serve as a workaround, I'd love to get the issue resolved completely.
 
Shut down the virtual machine (not suspend) before you change this setting.
 
I am also having the same issue. Was not happy when I needed to restore a VM from time machine last night and it was not there. I had to go back two months to get a clean VM again.

The above kb fix worked for me now. I hope there will be an update released to fix this issue.
 
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